moo.
He didn't say anything about perceived quality. He insinuated there was just one 4 year public institution in the Houston metro area. And it is largely the State's fault (and Jim Crow) that TSU is not highly desirable to most undergrads. And it is the state's fault that despite 25 million or so residents we only have two schools that are "acceptable" to most undergrads. Opening a potential UT Houston branch does nothing to alleviate that problem. Working to elevate the status of existing schools would.
Additionally, Arizona State is NOT the flagship of the state. The University of Arizona is the flagship and it is in Tucson.
Going further, DC has a public institution (UDC) and Virginia offers George Mason as well.
Lastly, if you don't think students commute between SHSU and Conroe, the Woodlands, Atascocita, Spring, etc.. every day then you're sorely mistaken.
If you want a 4 year public education within an hour drive of the Houston metro you have a ton of options. We don't need another one. We need to improve the existing ones.

Are you saying Houston only has one public 4-year university? Good god, there are two in the Third Ward alone. Cough Cough. One of them was created to keep UTAustin lily white.
Additionally, there are BA opportunities at TWU-Houston, A&M- Galveston, Sam Houston State, Prairie View A&M, and UTH. And that's just off the top of my head.

Graduation rates are rising quickly at UH, largely due to better incoming students as well as the UHin4 program. The incoming class of 2014 was the first class to have the option to join UHin4 and that class' 4 year graduate rate is on track to be 50%. The best news is 4 years later, over 70% of incoming students are joining UHin4.

UH has a great reputation outside of the region. It unfortunately still has work to overcome the years of racist/classist views that cloud the local reputation.
Case in point, the 2019 World University Rankings are out. UH ranks 5th in Texas behind UT, Rice, A&M, and UT-Dallas. These rankings are based on 13 factors like published works, R+D, international reach, and quality of instruction. UH is in a peer group with schools like UConn, Tulane, Denver, New Mexico, and Oregon State. Here's where the Texas schools fall;
39) Texas
86) Rice (size really hurst Rice but it punches way above its weight class)
171) Texas A&M
251-300) UT Dallas
301-350) Houston
501-600) UTSA
601-800) Baylor, UT Arlington, UTEP, Texas Tech
801-1000) Texas State
In the last few years, UH has steadily climbed the rankings. Adding programs in petroleum engineering, nursing, and industrial design have helped as has the conversion of the Schlumberger campus to the energy research center. The medical school will further elevate UH's status internationally. I'd also point out that UH ranks ahead of several UT branches included those with medical schools.
Lastly, here's the number of top 100 programs (graduate level) that schools in Texas have according to USNWR.
25 Texas
19 Texas A&M
18 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
14 Rice
11 Baylor
8 SMU
8 UT Dallas
7 Texas Tech
7 North Texas
4 UT Arlington
3 UTSA
3 UTEP
If you add up UTA, UTEP, UTD, and UTSA you get the same number as UH. I'm kinda glad we didn't wait around for a state branch all things considered.

Downtown is tidy because they hire private people to clean it 24-7.
One thing I wish Houston did was put screens on street drains. It would keep so much of the litter from entering the waterways. It's an easy solution. Nothing pisses me off more than riding along Braes or Buffalo after a heavy rain.
Also, LA is dirty because it doesn't get rain. It's dusty all the time. That said, like Boston, street cleaning is fairly active. Those trucks rumble through a few times a month.
Last pet peeve, folks who go to picnic at Hermann Park and then just get up and leave all of their trash or just watch it as wind blows their bags into the reflection pool or McGovern Lake. Trashy-assed folks. I've yelled at a few people but I think we live in a culture in which people just assume others will clean up after them. Hell, I see Rice kids leave junk all over because they know maintenance will get it. Disturbing mindset.

Of course it did. Democrats weren't running on an anti-homosexual agenda.
Straight slate is what arose after the Southern strategy proved so successful in Dixie. Are you going to tell me that wasn't a party issue either?